Jackson's deal, which runs through July 2007, reads similar to the one he signed with the World Fighting Alliance in March, including bonuses for pay-per-view and other ancillary items not normally associated with UFC deals.

Ibarra declined to divulge any financial terms, and said he doesn't expect Jackson to fight UFC champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures) before July. The UFC has the right to match any offer Jackson fields when his contract expires, Ibarra said.

In just the third bout of his career, Jackson (25-6-0) lost to Eastman (13-6-1) by decision in a King of the Cage-promoted contest. The 28-year-old from Memphis, Tenn. would eventually star in Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships, where he lost two epic wars against champion Wanderlei Silva (Pictures). It was also in Japan that Jackson scored his career-defining stoppage over Liddell during a PRIDE Grand Prix semifinal bout in 2003."

"Mirko Cro Cop is a new UFC fighter! It's now official, Mirko signed a contract with the UFC and he'll be in the line-up for UFC 67 show in February. More details on contract and a statement from Mirko will be available soon."

_________________________"In case you ever wondered what it's like to be knocked out, it's like waking up from a nightmare only to discover it wasn't a dream." -Forrest Griffin

Quote:From what I hear, Crocop will be fighting Eddie Sanchez first. If he wins that, he will get a shot at Liddel.

I was watching a UFC show (After the Bell; or something like that) on the Fighting Channel that was eventually going to get Rampage to fight Chuck down the line and that Crocop would fight in the heavy weight division and eventually go up against Tim Silva.

_________________________"IF I COME ... I'M BRINGING THE PAIN WITH ME"

Crocop signed a 6 fight 2 year deal in the millions. They wouldn't say how many but it obviously was enough to get Crocop to leave Pride to come to the UFC. Dana is pretty proud of this deal. So expect to see Crocop fight 3 fights a year for 2 years. I just hope they give him some good competition and not like Pride did with him earlier where he was just there to knock nobodies out for the fans approval. Give him some stiff competition and lets see what he can do. Good move for the UFC and will bring some Pride fans over and will pay big dividends for the UFC.

_________________________"IF I COME ... I'M BRINGING THE PAIN WITH ME"